His church will not embark on its “40 Days of Discernment” program for another month, but one thing is now clear about the Rev. Canon Martyn Minns' future: He will be consecrated a bishop on Aug. 20. The Church of Nigeria announced on Aug. 3 that it will consecrate Canon Minns and three other bishops-elect at a service in the nation's capital, Abuja.
Truro Parish in Fairfax, where Canon Minns is the rector, and other parishes in northern Virginia will begin their “40 Days of Discernment,” which will discuss their future relationship with the Diocese of Virginia, on Sept. 10.
Nigeria's announcement did not address the question of whether Canon Minns’ election is legal under the Nigerian Church's Canon 4, Section 4, which stipulates that “a Bishop for any diocese in the Church of Nigeria may be elected from among the bishops or clergy of any diocese of the Church of Nigeria, or of any other diocese in Communion with this Church.”
Nigeria declared itself in broken communion with the Diocese of Virginia after the General Convention of 2003.
Canon Minns has said before that he intends to remain rector at Truro until the parish chooses his successor. Bishop Peter James Lee had given his blessing to that plan, before Nigeria announced Canon Minns' election.
Bishop Lee voiced his doubts on Tuesday that Canon Minns will be able to serve simultaneously as Truro's rector and as a foreign bishop.
“I think the conflicts are too great to make that doable,” Bishop Lee told The Living Church. He added that Canon Minns' consecration date “adds a new element of complexity in the drama of ecclesiology in the United States.”
Beyond that, the bishop said that he and Canon Minns have agreed to not argue about the matter through the news media.
Douglas LeBlanc
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